Advocate

NCFA invites you to join us an advocate for policies at the local, state, and federal level that will benefit children living outside of family care, adopted individuals, birth families, and adoptive families. Select a topic below to learn more about how you can make a difference, or visit Adoption Advocate 79 to read more about adoption-related legislation in 2015 and NCFA's policy priorities.

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S. 1056 and H.R. 2144: The Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act was introduced in both houses on May 23, 2013 by Senators Blunt, Casey, and Landrieu and Representative Braley. This bill would return the adoption tax credit to refundability, as it was in tax years 2010 and 2011. It would allow families with low to moderate incomes to receive the full benefit of the credit in the tax year the adoption credit should be claimed.

S. 1203: The Protecting Adoption and Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Act was introduced on June 20, 2013 by Senators Inhofe and Landrieu. Similar legislation in the House, H.R. 3549: The Protecting Adoption Act, was introduced by Representative Hartzler on November 20, 2013. The bill would establish a national responsible fatherhood registry and allow states to voluntarily participate in the exchange of fatherhood registry information. The bill would also allow participation by fathers in states without a registry and encourage states without a registry to create one.

You are represented in Congress by two Senators and one Representative based on where you live. To find out who your Congressional Representatives are you may visit the websites of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives and search by your state (Senate) and zip code (House).

You can schedule a meeting with your Senator or Representative in his or her Washington, D.C. or district (home) office. A staff member at that office can refer you to the appropriate scheduler to discuss an appointment. Time is usually limited to 15-30 minutes with the Senator or Representative; in many cases, the staffer responsible for the issue/bill up for consideration will meet with you on behalf of the Senator or Representative.

To contact your Member's office by phone you may visit their personal congressional webpage which contains the contact information for their Washington, D.C. office and each of their district offices. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask the operator to connect you with the correct Senator of Representative’s office. Once you reach the correct office, ask to speak to the staff person handling the issue you are calling about and then express your opposition or support of the issue or bill under consideration.

You may also write a letter to your Senators and Representative expressing your views on a particular piece of legislation. To send the letter, you may look up the office address on the representative’s webpage and address it to “The Honorable (Member’s Name)”. You may also fax your letter to the office.

To send your Senator of Representative an email, visit their website first. They have either an online contact form or an email address available online. You can also send your Member a quick thought via Twitter or Facebook! Many Members are now on social media and have staff who regularly monitor and respond to those comments or questions.